Page:MeditationsOnTheMysteriesOfOurHolyV1.djvu/196

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up the dead that" are " in it;" the earth those that it swallowed alive; and " death and hell" will give up " the dead that" are " in them." [1] Though they were turned into dust, God's omnipotency will form them in a moment, with all the perfection of members they are to have; and in this very moment the souls will ascend from " hell," and those of heaven will descend, and every one will be united to the self-same body that it owned before. So that this " voice of the archangel," and this citation to judgment, all will obey without resistance, excuse or delay, even though they have been kings, popes, and monarchs of the world.

Colloquy. — O my soul, remember often this powerful voice, let this trump sound in thy ears, fear this terrible summoning, and prepare thyself for it! Obey the voice of Almighty God, and of His visible archangel, that saith unto thee, " Rise, thou that sleepest, and arise thee from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten thee;" [2] for He desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted, raised up, and live.

2. Secondly, I will consider what body will be given to the soul of the damned that comes up from hell, and what it will think to see itself encaged in it. For there will be given to it a body on the one side passible, and on the other side immortal and impassible, [3] that may ever suffer and never die. A foul, stinking, and horrid body, that will be the eternal prison of that wretched soul, and a .new hell to it in which to abide. Oh, what maledictions will the one cast forth against the other in that first entrance! " Cursed be thou, body," will the soul say, " for to pamper thee, and for that thou hast been rebellious to me, have I suffered so many and so great torments, and will for ever suffer them with thee." " Cursed be thou, soul! " will the body say, " be

  1. Apoc. xx. 13.
  2. Eph. v. 14.
  3. Apoc. ix. 6.